


Gratitude

by EveningEve



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Childhood Friends, F/M, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-14 23:42:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14779517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EveningEve/pseuds/EveningEve
Summary: Ever since they grew older their relationship drastically changed. Why? He can't think of any reason. But he will find out. [Canon x OC] [Revelation path]





	1. Change

This is odd. Someone makes noises in his room. Normally no one besides the young prince and the few caretakers and teachers were here. And the relam itself was not filled with people. Quiet the opposite. No one else lived here. So how is this possible? Could it be- No, someone who breaks in wouldn’t sob.   
Should he tell someone? Normally he had to. He did not know who it was. But the person did not seem like someone who wants to harm him or anyone else here. At least it did not sound like it. Maybe he should take a look first? Yes. And if the person is dangerous he will right away tell someone.   
Slowly the door opened, He took a sneak peek in the room. At first he did not see anyone, noticed no one. But when he looked closer he saw someone sitting with the back to the door, in the centre of the room.   
It was a small, blond haired girl, looking like she was around his age. She seemed to knee while mumbling something quietly. He did not really understand her mumbling. The only word loud enough was ‘lonely’. Lonely? It means something like being alone or feeling alone.   
He started to feel sorry for her. She doesn’t seem dangerous. Maybe he could help her and- 

“Lord Siegbert!?” someone shouted at him. “Lord Siegbert! Aren’t you listening!?”   
Suddenly Siegbert snapped out of his thoughts. He looked on his desk. A book about battle strategies was opened. And on top it was at the same page he started.   
Did he space out again during his studies? If this keeps on going he might get behind his schedule once more. And as a prince he was not allowed to let this happen! “I should get my act together again” he mumbled quietly.   
“What was that?” the female voice asked him. Suddenly he realized and turned around. “Nothing” he answered as soon as he saw who it was.   
“If you say so” she answered, sighing.   
“Did you need something?”   
“I just wanted to check on you Milord and ask if you needed something? Like a coffee, a shoulder massage or-“   
“No, I’m quiet fine Emi” Siegbert interrupted her. “But thank you for your concern.”   
“Are you sure? I still could-“   
“No, really. You don’t have to worry. I am fine.”   
“Didn’t look like it” the blond female told him while staring very serious at him. “This is the fifth time you have been spacing out this week. You might need a day off at this rate.”   
Siegbert tried to look calmly at her. She is doing it again, worrying too much about his well being. Well, maybe she has a point. He was spacing out a lot lately. But a day off? Impossible! He has to meet certain expectations as the son of his father, crown prince Xander himself. He didn’t have that luxury. Besides…   
“What about you?” he asked her. “I think you might need a break too.”   
“Me? A break!?” she asked him a bit shocked. “No way! Besides, I am not the one overworking myself!”   
“But all you do is-“   
“Lord Siegbert” Emi interrupted him. “I do not mean any disrespect with my answer but I really don’t need any breaks. I’m doing what I’m only doing my bare minimum around here.”   
Bare minimum? What does her ‘bare minimum’ mean? Working all day for the army? Training each day? And then on top taking care of him?   
But the Nohrian prince could not do anything but sighing. He knew perfectly how stubborn she was. Too stubborn for her own good.   
She looked questioning at him. “Milord?”   
“No, it’s nothing” Siegbert answered once more. “I will not tell you what to do and what not to do.”   
“Did I say something wrong?”   
He shook his head. “No, not at all. Please, do not worry about it.”   
“If you say so” then she stepped a bit backwards, right to the door and turned around. “Then I will go and leave you alone for now. Can I still check on you later?”   
“If it puts you at ease.”   
“Thanks.” And just like that she opened the door and left the room.   
Why is she doing this? His friend out of all places? 

It started sometime ago. Siegbert knew Emi since his childhood in the deeprelams. He found her in his room, crying and talking about being lonely. Due to feeling bad for her he decided to convince his caretakers to make her his playmate. And it was successful.   
Ever since then she was at his side all the time. And her presence was always something pleasant and refreshing. Yet the older they grew Emi was behaving more like another caretaker of his.   
She always checked on his well being and soon also started calling him “Lord Siegbert” or “Milord”. At first he thought this was just a phase but soon he realized this will be their relationship from now on-Servant and master.   
Did he feel comfortable? Not at all! She was his friend! Not some kind of master! He would like to show his worry too but she did not let him do so. He did not understand this sudden change. Not in the slightest. Not even a clue.   
If he knew, if he knew.


	2. Friends

“Yo Sieg, time for some arm wrestling!?” the Hoshidan prince approached the Nohrian prince with a cheerful grin on his face while wrapping his arm on his shoulders. But no reply.   
“Sieg?” No reply. “Earth to Siegbert!”   
“What!?” the blond male brought out a bit shocked. But then he realized and sighed relieved. “Oh, it is you Prince Shiro.” “Hey, we agreed not to be formal with each other right?” this one reminded. “We are buddies, remember?”   
“Oh, I must have forgotten. I apologize.”   
“Hey, don’t be sorry. It was a minor accident, nothing more.”   
Then Shiro let go of his buddy. Ever since the arm wrestling started the two princes became very close friends. Or as the Hoshidan loves to say, ‘buddies’. Befriending the Hoshidan prince was good to keep a good relationship to Hoshido, at least this is what the Norhian prince thought.   
Besides, Shiro was quiet unusual for a prince. Of course he was a kind soul and serious when he needs to be, but he took things way more calm than Siegbert himself. Also his speech is quiet informal. He was the complete opposite of his father, prince Ryoma of Hoshido.   
It does not mean Shiro is an unpleasant nuisance. Not in the slightest. In all honesty, he was quiet refreshing at times.   
“Something the matter?” the brown haired asked while looking closely at his friend. “You seem worried.”   
“I would lie if I answered your question with a simple ‘no’, right?” Sieg answered with a question.   
“Let me take a guess, you have problems with your girlfriend.”   
The Nohrian looked confused at his friend. “What?”   
“You and Emi of course!”   
“Me and-“ But Siegbert interrupted himself. “No, not in the slightest. Besides, Emi is only my friend. Not my girlfriend.”   
“You sure? Because-“   
“I am certain Shiro.”   
“Hey, I gotcha. No need to make that face” Shiro jested when looking at his buddy’s face. It was close to become at least a tad bit angered. “Something’s off with you though, I give it that much.”   
“Is it obvious?” Siegbert asked while his expression calmed down.   
The Hoshidan prince nodded. “Very obvious. Want to talk about it?”   
“It is just…” Sieg began. He tried to find the right words without sounding pathetic. “Just?” Shiro only repeated, waiting for an answer. But right away the other one replied: “No, it’s nothing. Please, do not break your head over it.”   
“If you say so. I’m not forcing you to talk. But if you change your mind you now know who to approach.”   
“Yeah” the Nohiran replied a bit more quietly. He couldn’t tell his friend. It was nothing to involve other people into in the first place.   
“Did you need something from me though?” Siegbert asked right after this all. “Me?” Shiro questioned before he got his cheerful expression back. “Not really. I just thought it’d be fun to have another arm wrestling match.”   
“Another one?”   
“Yeah. But if you don’t have time-“   
“I accept your offer” the young prince replied. It was a good opportunity to get his mind off things for a bit so why not?

“Heh, sorry Sieg” This sentence repeated itself right in his head while he looked at the swollen hand. This time Shiro accidently overdid it. This arm wrestling match was very intense. Hopefully-   
“Lord Siegbert! Are you alright!? How bad is it!?” someone screamed while slamming the door open. How did she find out?   
“I am not about to die Emi, calm-“ but before he was able to even finish the blond haired female grabbed both of his hands when approaching him and stared intensive at both.   
After a few seconds she let go of his left hand and head his right with both hands.   
A quiet yet quick “Ow!” escaped from his lips. And she only squeezed it lightly.   
After a few second she let go of his hand and asked: “How did this happen?”   
A little bit of silence until he told her that he and Shiro were arm wrestling.   
“Well, this hand needs resting for the next few days.”   
He quietly agreed. And there she goes, worrying about him like a caretaker again. How long has it been since they actually had a usual talk, away from duties?   
Now, everyone has duties. He knew that. Actually he was the expert when it came to duties. But… he’d lie if he told himself he wouldn’t appreciate a little chat.   
Siegbert wanted to open his mouth. He wanted to ask “What did you do today?” or “Did something exciting happen?” but then decided not to. He’d just get scolded with: “How can you think of such things when you are injured!? You really have some nerves at times!” He appreciates concern and all but even then this feels like letting a distanced person take care of you and not someone you trust.   
Suddenly Emi decided to meet his gaze. She seemed to have realized that he was staring at her. “You need something?” she asked while looking questioning at the young prince. But he only shook his head and turned around.   
“No, nothing” he replied. “I do not want to hold you up.”   
“You’re doing nothing of the sorts though.”   
He knew he didn’t. Whenever he said it this was always her reply. No exceptions.   
“Although, it might be the best to leave you alone for the rest of the day Milord” the female suddenly spoke up while taking her leave. “The arm wrestling with Shiro was sure exhausting, especially for your right hand. You should get some rest. Good night!”   
“Yeah, I will gladly take this advice” he mumbled while the door closed.   
And a step away from his friend again.  
“What is this?” the little girl asked when looking on the table. She was pointing at the plate filled with a berry cake and stared at it fascinated.   
Young Siegbert looked surprised at her, almost shocked. “You never heard of cake before!?” he asked, trying not to sound as shocked as his face but failed miserably. Talking about manners.   
But the girl didn’t seem to mind because she responded while shaking her head:”No. Where I come from not such a round shaped thing exists. What is it for?”   
“Well… You can eat it”   
“Like these roundish, yellowish brownish eatable things growing out of the ground?”   
“You mean potatoes?”   
“If that is how you call them.”   
“How do you call them?”   
“Roundish, yellowish, brownish, eatable things.”   
“What an odd place you come from.”   
Silence. The little girl stared right at him.   
Did the Nohrian prince insult her? He did not intend to do so! He should clear this up right a-   
“No, I gave them that name. But your name for them is shorter” she answered with a light smile. “You call them potatoes here… That is exciting to know! Thank you!”   
“Uhm… You are welcome” he almost shuttered surprising. She gets worked up by such a simple thing.   
“This relam and your world must be so exciting I can’t wait to ask you more about it! If it’s not too much that is!”


	3. Excitment

If Siegbert had to describe the girl he recently met it would be the following sentence: The curiosity of a baby. Everything she saw seemed so new to her. Anything, even the stuff she should know by now. She even used a pencil wrong by throwing it around. Or the time she bit on a piece of paper.   
“Why are you doing all of that?” he once asked her.   
“Why? It’s obvious!” she answered. “I just have to know what all of these things are and do! It’s just so much fun to see all of this!”   
“So you really never saw anything here before?”   
She shook her head. “No. But now I am and it is so much fun to see and learn about all of this!”   
She smiled happily at him, the exact opposite of the first day he encountered her. There she was sobbing, not knowing what to do, always repeating the word ‘lonely’ in various sentences. But this girl faded away.   
Now he is seeing an upbeat, young, cheerful girl who wants to get to know as much as possible about the unknown. 

“Chop sticks?” Siegbert asked confused as Shiro held two pair of sticks in front of his face. This one nodded.   
“They’re common in Hoshido if you want to eat stuff!” he replied. “Now we have forges and spoons too but if you want to go full Hoshidan you need to learn the art of chopsticking!”   
“The what?”   
“Don’t take what this doofus says to heart” the raven haired next to Shiro sighed slightly annoyed. “There is no so called art of … ‘copsticking’ and it’s not hard either.”   
“Aww, now you are just ruining the fun Rhajat!” Shiro frowned a bit disappointed.   
“Oh just look how sorry I am that I ruined your little joke.”   
“Apology accepted!” the Hoshidan male countered with a grin.   
“That was not an-“ but she didn’t finish. She instead started a new sentence:”Oh just forget it!”   
Sieg had no other choice but to laugh slightly at this sight. It put him at ease, yet he was also surprised how Shiro won such a… ‘special’ nature like Rhajat over. And it is even more surprising that the diviner even bothered with the buddy-type prince in the first place. But they seem to be happy with one another and that was good enough.   
“Anyway, back to the chop sticks. What do you think?” the Hoshidan prince asked the Nohrian prince.   
“It is certainly something new to find out, I’ll give it that much” the blond haired had to admit that much.   
“Are you seriously excited about some stupid pair of chop sticks!?” the raven haired asked in a sure more annoyed voice.   
“I would not say excited. I just did not see that coming in Hoshidan costumes.”   
“No, not really. Shall I show you so you can try it out yourself?”   
Sieg was close to shutter. Rhajat offered him to teach him something? That was odd. Apparently she seemed to have realized and sighed:”No, you have nothing to worry about. I will not harm you.”   
“You act like Sieg is afraid of you” Shiro threw in.   
She started to grin a bit darkly. “I don’t blame him for that.”   
“Wait what!?”   
“Calm down Shiro. I know Rhajat means no ill” the Norhian wanted to put his friend at ease. “And honestly I’d like to know how you do it.”   
At these times he seemed to understand her, understanding why new things are so exciting to find out about. Hoshido was very different from Nohr and full of new traditions and costumes for Siegbert. It was not uninteresting to hear about, and not just because it supports the relationship between the nations.   
Such so called ‘trivial’ things can bond people after all. 

“Did you know they use ‘chopsticks’ in Hoshido to eat their food?” Siegbert suddenly threw in before Emi could even make an attempt to ask:”Do you need something?” once more.   
The female looked confused at him. “What does that have to do with anything?” she asked just as confused as her face.   
“I thought you might want to hear about it” he explained.   
“About chop sticks? I’d rather hear how-“ “Say, did you find something new out today?” Sieg interrupted her.   
“Me? Let’s see…” She thought for a bit. But then from one second to the other her eyes seemed to sparkle when she thought about something.   
“Yes! Did you know that Hoshidans eat so much uncommon food? And they call it strangely too! Like they call fried noodles ‘yakisoba’! Or how many noodle soups they have! And they call them some different kinds of ‘ramen’! Did you even know you can make triangle shaped ‘balls’ out of rice!? Out of rice! There are even ones with fillings and-“ But the blond female stopped in time.   
“And you all ate that in one day?” Siegbert jested. She turned around though. “Of course not” she mumbled, sounding slightly embarrassed, like she said something wrong to him at the moment.   
“I ate that on different days.”   
“You seem to be excited about it. That means you probably ate some of these with chop sticks, right?”   
“No, with sticks.”   
“That is basically the-“ but then he sighed. “If you say so.”   
A moment of silence. Emi was looking away from the Nohrian prince. Did he go too far with that question? Maybe the idea of approaching his friend slowly again with such little questions was not a very good one after all.   
But he couldn’t keep quiet anymore. A lot has changed but maybe he could get them closer again like this. I mean, if he and Rhajat managed to get along just because of some pair of chop sticks a conversation like this might work too. He knew how unaware Emi has been of her surroundings. Sometimes it was very strange to look at, especially in the beginning. It was very odd, almost weird. But once you got used to it you were able to manage. … Mostly, sometimes it can get annoying but it was a refreshing side overall. Seeing someone appreciating the little things was rare nowadays.   
“Anything else you want to talk about?” she slowly asked. “Depends if you have something else to add to your discoveries” he countered.   
“N… no. Not really. Besides, it’s late anyway so I might take my leave now.”   
And right after that sentence the blond haired cavalier ran towards the door but stopped when Sieg asked:”Could I request something from you?”   
She did not turn around again, but he was able to see her nodding.   
“I do not want to force you to these conversations but maybe… if you didn’t mind… I’d like to have such a conversation with you a bit more often.”   
“A conversation about something time wasting?” Emi almost scoffed. “Lord Siegbert, you have better things to do then talking about chop sticks you know.”   
He shuttered slightly. He couldn’t deny that it’d take some time but… “Isn’t it important to bond with people close to you as well? I mean, it’d contribute to the army and-“   
“I got it, I got it! Geesh!” she interrupted him in an annoyed tone. “I will, I will! Promise! Can I leave now!?”   
“Y… Yeah.”   
The door was slammed closed. This reaction of Emi was unexpected. He never saw her acting like that.   
“Did I make a mistake?”


	4. Joy

Humming while writing or sketching something. Siegbert spotted his childhood playmate by accident today doing this while sitting under a tree. What was she writing or sketching there?   
He was curious. He’d like to approach her but when he did she always slammed the book close, asking if he needed something and talked about various other things, just not what entry she made today.   
Huh? Did she still do her “Food Diary” or “Discovery Diary”? It’d make sense, even today. Emi was that kind of person since everything was new for her. She found something every day. It was an adventure. Just like it was for a little child. Many would call it childish and actually it kind of was. But if it makes her happy why not?   
“Luring at girls?” someone suddenly approached her from behind. A female voice, sounding like she was jesting. “That’s not appropriate future lord Siegbert!”   
“Please, just call me Siegbert Soleil” the ‘future lord’ sighed.   
“Sorry, I need to get used to it. Who’re you watching?”   
“You sound like I lure around.”   
“No offense intended” Then she spotted the blond female as well. “Your maid?” the pink haired mercenary joked.   
“Wha- No!” the young prince became a bit louder. “We are friends!” Or at least used to be.   
“You sure?”   
“I am!”   
“Bet she’d do ‘stuff’ if you asked her to” Soleil suddenly brought up. “Stuff?” Sieg asked confused as he turned around. “What are you referring to?”   
“You know, drinking tea together. Wouldn’t that be-“ but then she realized that he drifted off.   
Tea, huh? They had done it a few times, maybe- No! What was he thinking!?   
“Siegbert!” Sol shouted. And suddenly he woke up. “Did you hear what I said!?”   
He shook his head and directly apologized. But then right away he asked:”Could I reciee some advice for talking to the opposite gender Soleil?” “Talking to girls? Advice?” she repeated confused. This request seemed to come out of the blue.   
He nodded. “I thought someone as confident as you might have some. Besides, you seem to have an easy time talking to females too.”   
“Are you interested in your-“   
“No, not like that!” he interfered. “It’s just-“ Great. Why did he even start this? A crown prince not being able to talk to his people? Sounds pathetic.   
“Just?” Soleil repeated questioning.   
“It’s no-“   
“Nah-ah. You won’t get away from that one!”   
He sighed. “Alright. Just please, do not laugh.” 

“Hot!” she almost screamed as she put the cup quickly away from her mouth while spilling some on her clothes.   
“I warned you” Siegbert slightly laughed. “Tea is always hot when it just has been brewed.”   
“Gee! If you want to laugh do it properly!”   
“Sorry, sorry.”   
It was adorable on its own. A child always made that mistake the first time, even he did. Now, it was not pleasant but at the same time funny that a grown, young woman made such mistakes.   
She was always curious what tea was and asked non-stop. Although it never was much, just flavored hot water he always answered. And now she tried it. ‘Hot water with flavor’.   
“I should write that down” she suddenly brought out while trying to sip again. “This is the weirdest thing I’ve tasted so far!” “Even weirder than soup?” he asked.   
She nodded, “I’m still glad you showed me. It tastes good in its own way.” Right then she put cup down.   
“When we are in your world, will you show me everything you know? You promise?”


End file.
